Czechs increasingly fond of energy drinks

The sales of energy drinks in the Czech Republic have been booming in
recent years. In 2018, the market with energy drinks increased by 2.4
billion crowns, the website Aktualnce.cz reported on Thursday. The results
were published by the company Al-Namura, producer of the Big Shock! energy
drink.

Photo: Marcos André, CC BY 2.0
According to the survey by Al- Namura, the energy drinks segment grew by
19.3 percent last year, while the volume of sold drinks increased by 12.9
percent.

The company recorded a turnover of 506 million crowns last year, an
increase by seven percent, with sales increasing to 52.2 million crowns and
its profits grew by 31 percent. The sales of the Big Shock! drink increased
by eight percent to 320.9 million crowns.

Another energy drinks producer, Red Bull Czech Republic, recorded a nearly
30 percent increase in profits in 2018, reaching 19.1 million crowns.
Meanwhile, the company’s sales grew by about ten percent to 731.8 million
crowns.

According to a survey carried out by the Nielsen consultancy company, 51.4
million litres of energy drinks were sold in the period between April 2018
and March 2019, which is a year-on-year increase by 11 percent.

Some five percent of respondents, who took part in the survey, consume
energy drinks several times a week, while seven percent around once a week.
Some 22 percent drink it less than once a month and 51 percent avoid it
altogether.

The Red Bull brand is currently the most popular energy drink among Czech
consumers, preferred by around 30 percent consumers, followed by Big Shock
(16 percent) and Semtex (10 percent).

Recent surveys also suggest that families with children over 15 are the
biggest consumers of the caffeinated drink, writes the website
Aktuálně.cz.

According to the market research agency GfK, every third household in the
Czech Republic, mainly those with children over 15, buy energy drinks on a
regular basis.

Meanwhile, doctors are cautioning against regular consumption of energy
drinks, saying that it should be only available on sale in pharmacies as a
food supplement.

“The negative aspect of energy drink consumption is neurological
addiction to caffeine, taurine and other substances. The brain gets used to
the boosting effect and starts to demand it regularly.

“Although the substances may give you a temporary feeling of refreshment,
it actually makes you more tired in the long term,” Zlatko Marinov,
obesitologist from Prague’s Motol hospital, told Aktualne.cz.